How to dispute a tow in Springfield
Think a tow near Springfield was wrong? Missouri law gives you a real deadline and real leverage.
What Missouri law says
Missouri doesn't run one statewide towing-complaint hotline, but the statutes that exist give you real, specific leverage if a company or property owner got it wrong. If your car was towed after the state searched title records and the towing company sent certified-mail notice, you have 10 days from that notice under RSMo 304.156 to file a court petition contesting the tow, or you can reclaim the car sooner by posting bond and paying the charges. For a private-property tow specifically, RSMo 304.158 requires written authorization from the property owner before a car can be removed at all, and the tower is liable for any damage caused during removal or storage. If a company removes a vehicle without proper authorization, it owes 4 times the towing and storage charge in damages, and a knowing violation is a class A misdemeanor. Separately, towing from private property without meeting the wait-period or signage requirements in RSMo 304.157 is a class C misdemeanor for whoever ordered it. If you were overcharged relative to what the property owner or local government actually authorizes, or the car was removed without written authorization, those are two of the clearest grounds for a dispute. For a car towed by Springfield police that landed at Henry's Towing, SPD's non-emergency line, (417) 864-1810, is the right first call for records or questions about the tow itself. Quick Tow Springfield is a private tow company, not a court or the police. We can't resolve someone else's dispute or waive fees, but we can help with transport once it's sorted out.
How it works in Springfield
- 1 Check whether you were notified properly
A tow processed through the state has to reach you by certified mail with the storage location and charges. Missing or late notice matters under RSMo 304.156.
- 2 Know your 10-day window
From the date of that notice, you have 10 days to file a court petition contesting the tow, or you can reclaim the car sooner by posting bond and paying the charges.
- 3 Check for proper authorization
A private-property tow needs written authorization from the property owner. No authorization on file is a real violation under RSMo 304.158.
- 4 Know the overcharging and damage remedies
A tower that removes a vehicle without proper authorization owes 4 times the towing and storage charge in damages, and it's liable for any damage caused.
- 5 Call SPD for records
For a tow SPD ordered, the non-emergency line, (417) 864-1810, is the right first call for paperwork or questions about the tow itself.
- 6 Retrieve your vehicle and keep your paperwork
Keep the invoice and any notice you received. Quick Tow Springfield can't resolve someone else's dispute since we're not the yard.
What this looks like around Springfield
A disputed tow in {c} usually traces back to the city's contract with Henry's Towing. Call SPD's non-emergency line, (417) 864-1810, for records on the tow itself.
Springfield is our hub city, the anchor of this whole coverage map, sitting where I-44 wraps the north and west edge of town and US-65, the Schoolcraft Freeway, runs the north-south spine straight down through Ozark, Nixa, and Branson. Downtown, the MSU Area, and Galloway each carry their own dedicated page, but Springfield itself is where the metro's traffic actually converges: the I-44/Route 13 interchange, North America's first diverging diamond interchange when it opened in 2009, sits on the city's west side, and the I-44/US-65 flyover on the east side sends a steady stream of Branson-bound traffic funneling past. Prime Inc., one of the largest trucking carriers in the country, has been headquartered in Springfield since 1980, running roughly 1,700 company drivers plus another 7,400 independent-contractor drivers as of 2024, and that HQ presence, combined with I-44 carrying more than 65,000 vehicles a day, over 15,000 of them semis, through the Glenstone-to-Kansas-Expressway stretch, makes Springfield a heavy-duty and long-haul tow market first, not just a passenger-car town. Missouri State University's Springfield campus set a new enrollment record in fall 2025 at 25,238 students, and a campus that size runs its own steady rhythm of lockouts, dead batteries, and parking-garage calls that don't follow a normal business-hours pattern. Winter brings its own risk: the January 2007 ice storm, the reference disaster for this whole region, left roughly 200,000 homes and businesses without power across the affected area and shut the city down for days, and smaller versions of that same ice pattern repeat most winters on the hilly Ozark terrain around town. We reach most calls inside Springfield proper in about 20 to 30 minutes, running wheel-lift for the ordinary breakdown or lockout and flatbed for interstate work or anything with sensitive electronics.
Common Springfield questions
How long do I have to dispute a tow in Springfield?
Under RSMo 304.156, you have 10 days from your certified-mail notice to file a court petition contesting the tow, or you can reclaim the car sooner by paying and posting bond.
What happens if a company towed my car without authorization in Springfield?
Under RSMo 304.158, that tower owes 4 times the towing and storage charge in damages, and a knowing violation is a class A misdemeanor.
Who do I call about a tow SPD ordered in Springfield?
SPD's non-emergency line, (417) 864-1810, handles records and questions about a police-ordered tow.
Can Quick Tow Springfield settle my tow dispute in Springfield?
No, we're a private tow company, not a court or the police. We can't resolve a dispute or waive fees, but we can help with transport once it's resolved.
Related help for Springfield
Disputing a tow in the rest of the Springfield Core area
Need your car towed once it's released in Springfield?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can tow it home the moment it clears.